Fruitful crop switch

Jai Saeyang is a Hmong farmer who is trying to make a living from a legal
crop instead of growing opium.

Jai says he started growing chill-tolerant temperate fruits such as peaches
and plums about five years ago at the suggestion of officials from the
Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.

He has enjoyed increased yield and a higher quality of fruit over the past
three years through careful attention to his peach trees.

"Good quality products mean higher income," he says.

Last year, Jai's three rai of peach trees yielded only 200 kilograms of fruit
and earned him only Bt10,000. But he hopes to harvest at least 1,000 kilograms
this year as he concentrates more on better farm management. And he expects the
price for the fruit to reach Bt60-Bt70 per kilogram by selling it through a
Royal Projects marketing arm.

Jai graduated from the Teachers' College in Chiang Rai, where he learned how
to improve not only his own life but that of his neighbours. His family is not
unlike those of other hill-tribes people whose main sources of income are
growing opium trees and destroying forests.

Jai said he turned his land into growing fruit, vegetables and flowers
following the suggestions of the government officials. He has learned about farm
technology that allows him to enjoy high yields, good quality and high prices.
He is also a member of the "Quality-of-Life" development project of the World
Vision Foundation of Thailand. The organisation encourages poor people to
achieve sustainable development.

The World Vision Foundation has asked for assistance from the Agriculture
Ministry to provide plant-breeding materials ("scions") and grafting technology
to hill-tribes people.